The Secret Wars

CHAPTER 1 The Confession

Just yesterday, I finished my second year of college. All those months of grueling studies and projects, I'm relived they're over. After I had left campus, I fully intended not to return till the next year. But here I am, in the university's theater building, because Chris had asked me to meet him.

Sitting limply on the stage, I waited for my boyfriend to arrive. He was late (as usual) and I was in a crappy mood. The night before, I only slept for three hours and not much more the night after; fretting about tests maybe. Waiting on Chris, my time of month not far away, and being sleep deprived equaled zero patience.

"What is taking him so long?" I muttered. My impatient foot tapping echoed off the stage and in the wide auditorium. "He's never any later than five minutes, but it's been nearly and hour…If I stay any longer, I'll get kicked out!"

I bit my lip. I hated getting in trouble with the faculty and usually I wouldn't wait for anybody for more than ten minutes, but something in Chris's voice, when he called me on my phone, spiked my concern.

The creak of the auditorium door grated loudly against my ears, adding to my already sour attitude.

"Babe, I'm so sorry I'm late!" Chris called quietly. His voice echoed in the open space.

I tapped my watch, sarcastically, giving him a tart look.

"It never fails that you be late, but never this late! I don't know-"I cut myself short. The spiteful things I had planned to say shriveled up and died in my mouth. He was pleading me with his dark eyes to listen, and that I needed to obey.

"I know I'm late, but I was being followed and I had to shake them off. I took the long way to meet you."

Followed? Them? Who? Duh you're late!

He took his thick arms and wrapped them around me, as if to hold me stable. His thumbs rubbed my shoulder blades.

"R-right…I know you're mad and I know I called you here for a reason as well..." Chris shifted uneasily in his embrace. He was acting so strange; too serious to be the Chris I know. Something must be terribly off if he's acting so unsure of himself. He continued to stay silent, as if to decide how to bring bad news. I was done waiting for him by now.

"Christopher! I've waited for an hour just sitting here for you because you called me here! Please! Just tell me what's going on." Either because of sleep deprivation or sporadic hormones, or both, I began to tear up. "This -sniff- is almost not worth it anymore"

I felt his hand lift my chin. His shoulders had slumped and a small smile curved his lips. But for a reason I didn't know, his eyes emitted worry and doubt.

"You are not going to believe at first what I'm going to say…or show you..."

"Gah! By now Chris I don't care! Just tell me already!" I said, exasperated. My patience was in the negatives by now.

"Sarah. You are in too much danger for me to keep this a secret any longer. For years I've been protecting you from Angels and the knowledge of what I truly am. I hated lying to you for so long, but you need to know what is truly going on!" he searched my eyes for any indication that I wasn't listening"; you are what those bastards call 'light'. You have a soul, you're a human and the Angels hunt humans. They want souls so that they can gain more power and win the war against us!"

"All that you know; the people you've been acquainted to, teachers, the school building itself, are all not what you think they are." His arms tightened around my waist, to keep me from pulling away. "I am not who you think I am."

I had to pull away. Using all my strength, I ripped free of his iron hold and stared him straight in the face. Incredulity and boar-headedness, my signature attributes, showed full-scale on my face. A slight grunt was all I could utter.

He stared down at me for a long moment, targeting my will to ignore his preposterous statements as I targeted his will to spit out the truth!

"What. The. Hell. Are you. Talking about!" I was so angry. So very, very angry!

I have known Chris since before I turned ten years old. We became partners the instant we came in contact. An unwavering companionship was made that was rare and special and that few people had! I knew everything about him, and here he tells me I knew nothing!

Another unbearable moment passed. He took in a deep breath and held his hands to his face, palms covering eyes. He parted his thin lips slightly as he bared his teeth. The right canine started growing twice as long, twice as big, and twice as sharp. He then removed his palms and revealed blood red irises. I gaped. There was no rational explanation to what I was feeling.

Partly insane (no sleep or raging hormones), I had the sudden impractical urge to touch his extended tooth. I raised my pointer finger to Chris's mouth and felt its length. Smooth, hard, gleaming, and wet with saliva, like a wolf fang.

"…So… you're a vampire?..." Slowly the depth of his confession crept its way into reality.

Looking a bit insulted, Chris shook his head, "Hell no! Do I look like a sex hungry leech to you?!"

As I continued to stare blankly at him, his anger softened and he smiled gently. More and more of what he said was becoming realistic. I couldn't figure out how. All this fantastical shit being dumped on me, all of what I knew to be real was being conflicted! As my brain was tossed upside down, the blood began to rush to my head.

"No babe. You see... I'm what you call a demon." He stared at me with his patient, crimson eyes. They are exactly the same eyes I looked into when we were kids. He was always way more patient than me, but his anxiety was now was starting to show in his face.

"Sarah, we really need to leave." Chris took a whiff of the air," I can smell them coming."

I nodded and took a step closer to him. Unfortunately though, my upside down brain lost its will to cope with any more stress. I staggered and lost feeling in my body. The last thing I saw was the stage floor rising to greet me.